I-Corps: Innovation Corps Teams Program: Innovative Insulated Wall Panel Connector

隔热墙板是夹在混凝土外层和内层之间的一层绝缘泡沫。剪切纽带在混凝土的外层和内层之间建立了物理连接。这种物理连接在不增加混凝土含量的情况下增加了墙板的强度；然而，这种物理连接也允许热量从外部混凝土层直接传递到内部混凝土层，完全绕过隔热泡沫，这一现象被称为热桥。为防止热桥接，连接件必须由非导电材料制成。目前，由非导电材料制成的连接件缺乏必要的强度来经济地提高隔热墙板的容量。此外，这些TIE系统经常遇到制造困难，增加了劳动力成本，限制了最终产品提供的质量保证。拟议的项目将有助于发现一种新型隔热墙板连接器的商业潜力，该连接器为建筑物提供防爆和耐热围护结构。拟议的努力将使团队能够确定市场、消费者和制造方法。这一努力还将使产品改进和原型开发成为最初的设计概念。该团队设想，概念验证演示将提供修订后的连接器的全尺寸原型。原型将安装在桌面大小的墙板模型中。将确定材料选项，并评估和提交连接器的制造和供应计划。该团队将进行初步市场评估，以检查市场规模，并确定大致的价格点和潜在利润率。工程原理将通过支持性的实验和数值试验数据来说明。示例设计将说明如何在标准风荷载环境和极端爆炸荷载环境中使用该连接器。

An insulated wall panel is a layer of insulating foam sandwiched between an exterior and interior layer of concrete. Shear ties make a physical connection between the exterior and interior layers of concrete. This physical connection increases the strength of the wall panel without increasing the amount of concrete present; however, the physical connection also allows heat to pass directly from the exterior concrete layer to the interior concrete layer, completely bypassing the insulating foam in a phenomenon known as thermal bridging. To prevent thermal bridging, ties must be made of a non-conductive material. Currently, ties made from non-conductive material lack the necessary strength to economically improve the capacity of the insulated wall panel. Additionally, these tie systems often suffer from fabrication difficulties increasing the cost of labor and limiting the quality assurance provided by the final product.The proposed project will facilitate discovery of commercial potential of a novel insulated wall panel connector that provides a blast and thermally resistant envelope for buildings. The proposed effort will allow the team to identify markets, consumers, and manufacturing methods. The effort will also enable product refinement and prototype development of the original design concept. The team envisions that the proof-of-concept demonstration will provide a full-scale prototype of the revised connector. The prototype will be installed in a table top size wall panel mock-up. Material options will be identified and a manufacturing and supply plan for the connector will be assessed and presented. The team will conduct a preliminary market assessment to examine the size of the market and to determine a rough price point and potential margins. The engineering principles will be illustrated with supporting experimental and numerical test data. A sample design will illustrate how the connector can be used in a standard wind load environment and in an extreme blast load environment.